Elf DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Heartwarming Comedy with Will Ferrell as Santa's "Elf"

Saturday Night Live alum Will Ferrell enjoys the best outing of his career in the title role of Elf, a heartwarming tale for young and old. The craggy-faced funnyman plays Buddy, an orphan put up for adoption in New York who was raised at the North Pole after accidentally crawling into Santa's (Ed Asner) big bag of toys on Christmas Eve.
Reared by kindly Papa Elf (narrator Bob Newhart) as if one of his own, Buddy gradually grew to dwarf everyone around him. And although he was welcomed as the only baritone in the Elf Choir, clumsy Buddy is a failure as one of Santa's little helpers.
Finally, after thirty years of hiding the truth, Papa Elf decides it's time to tell him he's human. So, Buddy says good-bye to the only friends he's ever known, cracks off an ice floe and paddles his way back to the Big Apple to find out if he has any family.
This is the point of departure for Elf, a delightful, slapstick adventure about a naive innocent woefully ill-equipped to handle big city life. Lucky for Buddy, it's holiday time, so he lands a job at a department store as what else, but an elf.
He proceeds to develop a romantic interest with an adoring blonde co-worker, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel), who never notices what a dork he is. But after a comedy of errors, he ends up in jail and puts his one free call to good use. It turns out Buddy's mother has died, but that his dad (James Caan) is alive and well.
Will his Scrooge of a father catch the Christmas Spirit, bail his long-lost son out for a bonding opportunity and an important lesson in life? Or will he leave buddy behind bars? Remember, think heartwarming.
An instant holiday classic.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG for crude humor and mild epithets.
DVD Extras include 9 deleted scenes, director's and Will Ferrell commentaries, plus a couple of interactive features,: Buddy's Adventure Game and Karaoke Read Along.